I've been MIA for a bit just wrapping up my summer vacations before the new school year starts. (eeek!) Sorry for the absence. However, I will say I have been doing a great job vacationing and staying on track with my marathon training. Last Wednesday Mike and I left for Smith Mountain Lake with my friend Regina and her hubby and family... Needless to say we had an incredible time! It was beautiful during the day and fall like during the night by the camp fire---it was heaven! Regina is runner too; however, she is a different kind of runner than I am. She's the runner that takes off with speed when the gun goes off, aka the Hare. Meanwhile I ease into my running at a moderate (also known as slow) pace. We ran Thursday and Friday morning while I was there and it was gorgeous. I was nervous for a few reasons 1. we were running extremely hilly trails 2. we were running extremely hilly trails and 3. Regina is fast. Although the trails were tough (that's an understatement they were brutal 90 degree vertical inclines) it was great to push myself and lucky for me Regina stayed with me and we ran, jogged, and walked together and were able to catch up along the way. By Sunday morning (the day we left) my ankles and calves were mighty sore from the inclines but I was proud that I pushed through.
Here are some pictures that Mike took of our fun weekend! ----> coming soon
On the ride back all I could think about was how sore I was but how I had 7 miles to run before I could relax-- because let's be serious if I come close to sitting/laying down it's over. So as soon as I walked in the door I put on my running gear and headed outside to run. (I've been doing most of my runs on the treadmill because of the heat but after running the trails and realizing training outside vs. inside are two COMPLETELY different things I'm determined to most of my runs outside unless the weather interferes).
As soon as I got outside this is what the sky looked like....
I ignored the signs of a torrential down pour and started out running anyway. Every person I ran past looked at me like I was a crazy person; however, I kept on running. I hopped on the Custis Trail (holy hills!!!) and ran out 3. 3 miles and then turned around. All the while the clouds got darker and grew scarily close to where I was running. Then this started happening....
I had to stop and walk some because this hill were brutal (Note to self: train on hills more!) But I was determined to get home before the monsoon came.
And then finally I could see it... MY HOUSE! It was less than a mile ahead and I was feeling good. I looked down at my GPS watch and realized that since I turned around a little sooner then I was supposed to I had to run past my house to get those few extra miles in. I'm sure you can guess what happened next... It started POURING.MONSOONING.RAINING CATS AND DOGS. Whatever you want to call it! I was soaked! My shoes were squeaking and I was sweaty and wet and tired but I was glad to be done!
My few days at SML really got me thinking about my training. I'm used to training in a way that makes it easier for me---no hills. However, in this case, for the race I'm running there will be hills and I need to get prepared for them. As much as I hate hills I know that I need to train on them so that come race day I'm ready.
-Kendayl
Pray that I can get better with hills!
Are hills hard for you? How do you get through those tough training days?
Here are some pictures that Mike took of our fun weekend! ----> coming soon
On the ride back all I could think about was how sore I was but how I had 7 miles to run before I could relax-- because let's be serious if I come close to sitting/laying down it's over. So as soon as I walked in the door I put on my running gear and headed outside to run. (I've been doing most of my runs on the treadmill because of the heat but after running the trails and realizing training outside vs. inside are two COMPLETELY different things I'm determined to most of my runs outside unless the weather interferes).
As soon as I got outside this is what the sky looked like....
 |
| Obviously this wasn't my exact scenery but you get the idea of what I was up against... nature! |
 |
| Ok again... a little exaggeration but none-the-less the thunder and lightening was right on my heels |
I had to stop and walk some because this hill were brutal (Note to self: train on hills more!) But I was determined to get home before the monsoon came.
And then finally I could see it... MY HOUSE! It was less than a mile ahead and I was feeling good. I looked down at my GPS watch and realized that since I turned around a little sooner then I was supposed to I had to run past my house to get those few extra miles in. I'm sure you can guess what happened next... It started POURING.MONSOONING.RAINING CATS AND DOGS. Whatever you want to call it! I was soaked! My shoes were squeaking and I was sweaty and wet and tired but I was glad to be done!
My few days at SML really got me thinking about my training. I'm used to training in a way that makes it easier for me---no hills. However, in this case, for the race I'm running there will be hills and I need to get prepared for them. As much as I hate hills I know that I need to train on them so that come race day I'm ready.
-Kendayl
Pray that I can get better with hills!
Are hills hard for you? How do you get through those tough training days?
Had such a blast with you guys at SML! I was so proud of you during our runs! The hills were intense! I know you will do great during your race...can't wait to run more training runs with you! LOVE YOU and SO PROUD OF YOU!!!! This is going to be a great year!!! :)
ReplyDelete-Regina